At Tuesday night’s regular meeting of the Berthoud Board of Trustees, the town’s elected officials took action on two items that had wide appeal and heard presentations regarding additional matters that are of concern to the town.
Following the opportunity for public comment, during which no residents addressed the board, the trustees turned their attention to the discussion regarding a long-standing land purchase agreement, officially referred to as the “Newell Farm” property, between the town and two residents.
Sarah Lincoln and Daren “Butch” Hause approached the town regarding the selling of their 12.64-acre parcel of land in eastern Berthoud to the town for a price of $1.39 million. The property, which consists of three parcels would be divided initially into parcel one – which includes the historic farmhouse residence, water cistern, granary, amphitheater, and recording studio – which currently serves as the couple’s home and the second (1.2 acres) and third (6.44 acres) parcels which are currently used by a tenant farmer.
The contract stipulates that, upon the expiration of the life of the estate (i.e., the deaths of Mr. Hause and Ms. Lincoln), the property be preserved as a farmland park with control by the town under a set of stipulations set forth by the contract. Ms. Lincoln, in her address to the board, stated, “Bookending a rural town with farm parks on the east and west (Waggener and Newell) is ideal,” and the trustees were enthusiastically supportive and approved the motion with a unanimous vote.
The board also approved the mid-year supplemental budget appropriation. The information provided to the trustees stated, “The audit results are compiled in May, giving us year-end closing numbers for all accounts. We are able to use these actual closing numbers to adjust our previously estimated numbers. We combine this adjustment with a mid-year supplemental appropriation to account for any budget items that were unfinished in the preceding year and any new budget items that need to be appropriated
for the current year.”
Following a report from Town Administrator Chris Kirk and Town Treasurer Cindy Leach, both of whom reported the town is in an excellent financial position, the board voted unanimously to approve the measure. As Kirk has stated repeatedly in various public forums, the town budgets conservatively and, as Leach’s report demonstrated, the town currently is $10,575 million in excess from forecast costs and revenue projections from the budget initially approved last winter.
The board then listened to a presentation on updated communication efforts by the Berthoud Tree Advisory Committee. The trustees’ information packet explained, “The Tree Advisory Committee has identified that additional outreach to homeowners about tree responsibility and care for trees located in the right of way is necessary to avoid a potential stalling of action on necessary tree-related maintenance needs.”
Paul Furnas, Berthoud Town Forester, and Toni Baker, Tree Advisory Committee Chair, outlined a five-point plan that will enhance the group’s communication efforts with the community. The plan calls for increased outreach by the town using social as well as traditional media means, hosting public events, creating partnerships between the town and volunteer neighborhood liaisons with HOAs and homeowners, and serve in an advisory role to provide recommendations and work with other town departments. The trustees were very complimentary of the presentation and the plans outlined therein.
The board also heard a detailed presentation from Larimer County officials regarding efforts to form a collaboration between the municipalities within the county as well as possibly with neighboring cities and towns in adjacent counties. The presentation stated, “A cohesive and collaborative strategy is needed to identify solutions for regional transportation needs,” and added that it believed that “word is not getting out,” and thus they are working with elected town boards/city councils and municipal leadership to develop an overall plan.
Board members were given a real-time interactive poll where they were asked to rank needs, identify priorities and clarify their interest levels. Board members also were asked to share what they view as “must haves” and “deal breakers,” regarding the transportation question. The county will return once they have conducted similar forums with other communities in the region.
The board is considering holding a special meeting next week to discuss mosquito mitigation efforts, possibly including experts from Larimer County Health. Such a meeting would be announced late this week or on next Monday. The next regular meeting of the Berthoud Town Board will take place on Sept. 13.